Graymouse
Pro Adventurer
Don't mind me, just dropping off the daily tweet dump.
Faith v. 3.0 (Cloti Club)
- Thread starter Tennyo
- Start date
Erotic Materia
[CONFUSED SCREAMING]
I don't typically post in clubs, but this was too good to let go unseen:
gilbaxnomfux
Lv. 1 Adventurer
While surfing youtube comments late at night, found one comment in a Final Fantasy union video about Tifa saying how a Foo Fighter song seems pretty fitting for our favourite pair.
Gave it a listen myself and did imagine how this would fit well with how we would describe Cloud and Tifa's relationship.
Unsteady, not so perfect yet so relatable and endearing.
Two broken people who share a troubled and tramatic past and though it all together struggle and strieve to find their way to a smile.
So yeah thought I share this and wonder what you guys think.
Im not big on Foo Fighters myself but the song grew fast on me.
Gave it a listen myself and did imagine how this would fit well with how we would describe Cloud and Tifa's relationship.
Unsteady, not so perfect yet so relatable and endearing.
Two broken people who share a troubled and tramatic past and though it all together struggle and strieve to find their way to a smile.
So yeah thought I share this and wonder what you guys think.
Im not big on Foo Fighters myself but the song grew fast on me.
insanehobbit
Pro Adventurer
Since I am technically on vacation today, and my country/state is doing such a bang up job of dealing with COVID that I'm not going anywhere far anytime soon, I thought I'd do a quick (for me, at least) comparison of the scenes of the two girls asking Cloud about his relationship with the other.
On the surface, they seem to serve a similar purpose, but the game presents them quite differently:
Specifically, let's look at the camera angles and framing that is used. In Aerith's scene, we've got quite a bit of variety. It's almost like we're watching this from the POV of a fly buzzing around to get the best view of the drama.
Meanwhile in Tifa's, we just have close ups and medium shots. There is not a single shot where Cloud nor Tifa is the only person in the frame. And while these are not quite over the shoulder shots, the camera does more or less emulate the POV of the person who is being spoken to.
Let's contrast this with Aerith's scene. (6) establishes the the geographic relationship of the two characters, so in (7) and (8), it's obvious that we are not seeing Aerith from Cloud's perspective nor Cloud from Aerith's perspective. We are supposed to be focused on what the character on screen is feeling and saying, and less so on the person they are speaking to.
In Tifa's scene, because the other party is always in the frame, while our focus will be on the main subject of the shot, we are also supposed to be cognizant of the person they are speaking to.
Shot (4) in Tifa's scene illustrates this dynamic particularly well. Cloud gets up while he answers Tifa's question. Rather than cutting on the movement (as is the case in almost every shot of Aerith's scene), the camera slowly follows Cloud he moves, as Tifa would - her head is always in the frame. If the game wanted us to focus exclusively on Cloud's feelings for Aerith here, this would have been the perfect opportunity to cut to a close up of his face as he answers. Instead, we are always aware that it is Tifa he is talking to.
Interestingly enough, the cut from (4) to (5) is a cut on movement, Tifa's movement. While Cloud is still in the frame, we very much are supposed to be focusing on Tifa's reaction here.
My takeaway is that in Aerith's scene, the game wants us to pay attention to Cloud's feelings about Tifa. Whereas, in Tifa's scene, it's less so Cloud's feelings about Aerith, but Tifa's feelings about what Cloud's relationship with Aerith might be.
Due to differences in JP vs. ENG, there's been some debate over whether or not Tifa is jealous in this scene. I would argue that Tifa is jealous in this scene, only she is asking her question in such a way that Cloud wouldn't necessarily know it's out of romantic jealousy. That fits with her character, who is insecure but at the same time, nowhere near as bold as Aerith to ask such a question outright.
Let's also think about this scene in the context of a the game as a whole. If that sewer scene was intended to showcase Cloud's preference for Aerith, it would be a strange choice to shunt it off as an optional scene that you would likely only see in a playthrough where you favored Tifa. At the same time, if you are favoring Tifa and choose her first in the sewer, would the game really be rewarding that choice with the scene that says 'Hey, you dumb loser. Cloud actually likes the other girl after all!'? That...is certainly an opinion one can have, I suppose.
Rather, by choosing Tifa, the player is rewarded with a scene that deepens their understanding of the relationship between the two characters. We've already seen Cloud threatening to murder any guy who shows an iota of interest in Tifa. Here, we finally have a scene that indicates Tifa may feel the same way about him.
Ok, I'm sorry, this ended up being much longer than I thought.
On the surface, they seem to serve a similar purpose, but the game presents them quite differently:
Specifically, let's look at the camera angles and framing that is used. In Aerith's scene, we've got quite a bit of variety. It's almost like we're watching this from the POV of a fly buzzing around to get the best view of the drama.
Meanwhile in Tifa's, we just have close ups and medium shots. There is not a single shot where Cloud nor Tifa is the only person in the frame. And while these are not quite over the shoulder shots, the camera does more or less emulate the POV of the person who is being spoken to.
Let's contrast this with Aerith's scene. (6) establishes the the geographic relationship of the two characters, so in (7) and (8), it's obvious that we are not seeing Aerith from Cloud's perspective nor Cloud from Aerith's perspective. We are supposed to be focused on what the character on screen is feeling and saying, and less so on the person they are speaking to.
In Tifa's scene, because the other party is always in the frame, while our focus will be on the main subject of the shot, we are also supposed to be cognizant of the person they are speaking to.
Shot (4) in Tifa's scene illustrates this dynamic particularly well. Cloud gets up while he answers Tifa's question. Rather than cutting on the movement (as is the case in almost every shot of Aerith's scene), the camera slowly follows Cloud he moves, as Tifa would - her head is always in the frame. If the game wanted us to focus exclusively on Cloud's feelings for Aerith here, this would have been the perfect opportunity to cut to a close up of his face as he answers. Instead, we are always aware that it is Tifa he is talking to.
Interestingly enough, the cut from (4) to (5) is a cut on movement, Tifa's movement. While Cloud is still in the frame, we very much are supposed to be focusing on Tifa's reaction here.
My takeaway is that in Aerith's scene, the game wants us to pay attention to Cloud's feelings about Tifa. Whereas, in Tifa's scene, it's less so Cloud's feelings about Aerith, but Tifa's feelings about what Cloud's relationship with Aerith might be.
Due to differences in JP vs. ENG, there's been some debate over whether or not Tifa is jealous in this scene. I would argue that Tifa is jealous in this scene, only she is asking her question in such a way that Cloud wouldn't necessarily know it's out of romantic jealousy. That fits with her character, who is insecure but at the same time, nowhere near as bold as Aerith to ask such a question outright.
Let's also think about this scene in the context of a the game as a whole. If that sewer scene was intended to showcase Cloud's preference for Aerith, it would be a strange choice to shunt it off as an optional scene that you would likely only see in a playthrough where you favored Tifa. At the same time, if you are favoring Tifa and choose her first in the sewer, would the game really be rewarding that choice with the scene that says 'Hey, you dumb loser. Cloud actually likes the other girl after all!'? That...is certainly an opinion one can have, I suppose.
Rather, by choosing Tifa, the player is rewarded with a scene that deepens their understanding of the relationship between the two characters. We've already seen Cloud threatening to murder any guy who shows an iota of interest in Tifa. Here, we finally have a scene that indicates Tifa may feel the same way about him.
Ok, I'm sorry, this ended up being much longer than I thought.
Graymouse
Pro Adventurer
You can really tell through Sakurai's work that he genuinely likes Tifa. Especially when Cloud and Tifa are together in the same scenes.
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Eerie
Fire and Blood
This is something rather interesting that I had noted; that in the sewers, while it's presented in a rather neutral way (Cloud ends up right in the middle of the two girls, same distance, he's clearly given the choice of "who" he wants to wake up first), the game only rewards you for waking up Tifa. Waking up Aerith is rather inconsequential, except that you do get her resolution scene, but the game would still rather that you wake up Tifa and get this scene. It's also the only real choice that will affect the romance, because you're supposed to do all quests, after all. And while it's totally up to the player, the game does prefer that you pick up Tifa and gives you something optional but better for the characterisation and that gives more context to Cloud, Tifa and Aerith's relationships.
To get Aerith's angle, it's still optional because it's in her sidequests, but if you do them, you'll get the scene where she asks about Tifa. And what it gives you is context about the Cloud/Tifa relationship, nothing related to Cloud/Aerith. Indeed, it's the way it's presented that is interesting, not only visually, but also in storytelling, you get as much cloti as you get clerith, but the game does push a cloti narrative in a certain perspective, it wants you to look at them and not miss them, imho.
Just a correction, the Tifa flashback scene in Chapter 8 isn't optional! It's part of the main quest when you're saving the children (and right after this you run into Remnant #2). So you get to see this angle/Aerith asking about Tifa no matter what.
insanehobbit
Pro Adventurer
Yeah, that's a really good point as well. I also forgot to mention that in the Ch. 8 Aerith scene, you can hear Tifa's Theme playing in the background throughout their entire conversation, which completely gives the game away, imo. (err I mean in a colloquial sense, though I guess it is kind of foreshadowing for later parts of the game as well)
EDIT: also like @minami758 said, Aerith asking about Tifa isn't optional, while Tifa's sewer scene is. And optional in the truest sense, since while all 3 Ch. 14 resolutions can coexist, Cloud can only canonically wake up one girl in the sewer.
Unless I'm missing something, Tifa in the sewers is the only time anyone in the game asks Cloud about his relationship with Aerith. Meanwhile, both Aerith and Jessie ask Cloud about his relationship with Tifa (in either an explicitly or implicitly romantic light) in non-optional cutscenes. I didn't break down the Jessie Ch. 1 scene because it's literally 2 shots of Cloud not knowing what to say, lol.
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Yumelinh
Pro Adventurer
@insanehobbit your analysis is a gift for this fandom!!! So good! 
I don't think I have ever considered these scenes in this way past the observation that Aerith's reaction when she asks about Cloud's relationship with Tifa is presented in a rather playful/positive way. The same thing happens when she sees the flower in Tifa's bar, Aerith's reactions to the idea that the relationship between Cloud and Tifa can be more than friendship is being presented in a much positive light compared to OG ie she doesn't seems to be jealous of Cloud at all. She even goes as far as teasing Cloud about it in a few stances.
When it comes to Tifa, there are (debatable) moments when she seems to be uncomfortable with the idea that Cloud and Aerith's relationship can become more than just friendship, which teases the player about her feelings for Cloud. Same with Cloud and his reactions to other guys around Tifa, this has nothing to do with the idea that any of them had a chance with her in the first place, but it does tease the player about what exactly are Cloud's feelings for Tifa at this point.
And while we're at this, can I be greed and ask what is your opinion about Aerith's reaction of seeing the flower in Seventh Heaven?
I don't think I have ever considered these scenes in this way past the observation that Aerith's reaction when she asks about Cloud's relationship with Tifa is presented in a rather playful/positive way. The same thing happens when she sees the flower in Tifa's bar, Aerith's reactions to the idea that the relationship between Cloud and Tifa can be more than friendship is being presented in a much positive light compared to OG ie she doesn't seems to be jealous of Cloud at all. She even goes as far as teasing Cloud about it in a few stances.
When it comes to Tifa, there are (debatable) moments when she seems to be uncomfortable with the idea that Cloud and Aerith's relationship can become more than just friendship, which teases the player about her feelings for Cloud. Same with Cloud and his reactions to other guys around Tifa, this has nothing to do with the idea that any of them had a chance with her in the first place, but it does tease the player about what exactly are Cloud's feelings for Tifa at this point.
And while we're at this, can I be greed and ask what is your opinion about Aerith's reaction of seeing the flower in Seventh Heaven?
Yumelinh
Pro Adventurer
A few goodies from twitter:
I have no idea what is going on here, but cuuuuteeeeeeeeeeee Also, @Ruri I'll tag you in all Cloti fam related posts! You're doomed!
Someone translated it in the comments: He's frozen because he is so shocked that his daughter called him Papa! 100% Cloud's character here and so cuteeeeeeeee
I have no idea what is going on here, but cuuuuteeeeeeeeeeee Also, @Ruri I'll tag you in all Cloti fam related posts! You're doomed!
Someone translated it in the comments: He's frozen because he is so shocked that his daughter called him Papa! 100% Cloud's character here and so cuteeeeeeeee
Graymouse
Pro Adventurer
That happens a lot in the Remake where they use Tifa's Theme song. I love that way of storytelling. Tifa doesn't even have to be in the scene at all. To know that the scene is about her.
One of my favorite is when Tifa comes to rescue Cloud on top of Shinra's tower. Right when Cloud grabs Tifa's arm, you hear the distinct three notes of Tifa's Theme. Example:
This is a perfect example of making the music a character in of itself! This is my favorite style of storytelling!
insanehobbit
Pro Adventurer
I was initially quite resistant towards the idea of Tifa showing jealousy in the sewer because of all of my memories from previous iterations of the LTD, but stepping away from it, Tifa being jealous should actually be seen as a positive, especially at this stage of the relationship. It's a pretty commonly used trope to establish one character's romantic interest in the other. Like for the all the players who are looking somewhere else while they're touching or staring at each other, these are the moments, where even they would go 'Oh, wait --- that's what's going on here.'
Sure! Though I don't think I'm really contributing anything that hasn't already be said. I am also of the view the Remake!Aerith doesn't seem to be nearly as romantically interested in Cloud as OG!Aerith. I didn't clock a single moment where I felt like she was expressing romantic jealousy. She definitely likes Cloud as a person and enjoys teasing him (and very often she's teasing him about his relationship with Tifa in a playful way rather than a way for her to get him to notice her own romantic interest).
For this particular scene, visually, since Aerith is the only party in the triangle who is physically present, it doesn't tell me anything we don't know other than the fact that we are supposed to pay attention.
Instead, we have to rely on the story beats leading up to this point to derive its intent.
Here's what we know about the flower:
-Aerith gives the flower to Cloud (telling him it represents 'reunion' - whether or not it's explicitly romantic seems to depend on the translation); depending on what dialogue option you choose, Cloud only agrees to accept it after she tells him it'll make his girlfriend's day
-Cloud gives the flower to Tifa, who puts it near the register where Aerith finds it
-Knowing that Cloud was well-aware of the flower's meaning, she later asks him who he gave it to, and he obfuscates. She teases him and knows he's lying.
We also know that Aerith is only at Seventh Heaven because Tifa asked her to find Marlene there. I can't remember if at any point Aerith is told that Tifa works there, but it's not a leap to think that she made that connection.
I feel like it's pretty clear the reason she smiles because she recognizes that Tifa is the person Cloud gave the flower to. (Why else would the game have her explicitly ask him about it in Ch. 8? There are plenty of other things to mindlessly banter about if it's just meant to be a throwaway line).
Now the meaning of her smile is more debatable. Interpreting facial expressions is something that's inherently more subjective, which is why I don't get into it much; however, we do know that Aerith has asked and teased Cloud about his relationship with Tifa multiple times; we also know that she has spent at least a couple of hours that night observing how the two of them behave around each other. For me, it's not a smile of acquiescence (accepting that she's "lost") or like a game-on-she's-really-going-to-fight-for-Cloud now smile, but that kind of knowing smile you smile when you realize two of your closest friends like each other before either one of them does.
One last thing to note, is that the scene immediately following this moment (which is connected to the scene where Aerith is taken by Tseng) is where Tifa jumps towards Cloud on the pillar and we get that slow-mo handgrab. Another moment where the game is telling the audience to pay attention. Perhaps it's trying to tell us the same thing?
Sure! Though I don't think I'm really contributing anything that hasn't already be said. I am also of the view the Remake!Aerith doesn't seem to be nearly as romantically interested in Cloud as OG!Aerith. I didn't clock a single moment where I felt like she was expressing romantic jealousy. She definitely likes Cloud as a person and enjoys teasing him (and very often she's teasing him about his relationship with Tifa in a playful way rather than a way for her to get him to notice her own romantic interest).
For this particular scene, visually, since Aerith is the only party in the triangle who is physically present, it doesn't tell me anything we don't know other than the fact that we are supposed to pay attention.
Instead, we have to rely on the story beats leading up to this point to derive its intent.
Here's what we know about the flower:
-Aerith gives the flower to Cloud (telling him it represents 'reunion' - whether or not it's explicitly romantic seems to depend on the translation); depending on what dialogue option you choose, Cloud only agrees to accept it after she tells him it'll make his girlfriend's day
-Cloud gives the flower to Tifa, who puts it near the register where Aerith finds it
-Knowing that Cloud was well-aware of the flower's meaning, she later asks him who he gave it to, and he obfuscates. She teases him and knows he's lying.
We also know that Aerith is only at Seventh Heaven because Tifa asked her to find Marlene there. I can't remember if at any point Aerith is told that Tifa works there, but it's not a leap to think that she made that connection.
I feel like it's pretty clear the reason she smiles because she recognizes that Tifa is the person Cloud gave the flower to. (Why else would the game have her explicitly ask him about it in Ch. 8? There are plenty of other things to mindlessly banter about if it's just meant to be a throwaway line).
Now the meaning of her smile is more debatable. Interpreting facial expressions is something that's inherently more subjective, which is why I don't get into it much; however, we do know that Aerith has asked and teased Cloud about his relationship with Tifa multiple times; we also know that she has spent at least a couple of hours that night observing how the two of them behave around each other. For me, it's not a smile of acquiescence (accepting that she's "lost") or like a game-on-she's-really-going-to-fight-for-Cloud now smile, but that kind of knowing smile you smile when you realize two of your closest friends like each other before either one of them does.
One last thing to note, is that the scene immediately following this moment (which is connected to the scene where Aerith is taken by Tseng) is where Tifa jumps towards Cloud on the pillar and we get that slow-mo handgrab. Another moment where the game is telling the audience to pay attention. Perhaps it's trying to tell us the same thing?
Graymouse
Pro Adventurer
I feel that the moment were Marlene shows the flower to Aerith, this is where I feel that she starts to understand just how important Tifa is to Cloud. Like you were saying Aerith was around the two of them on their way back to Sector 7 slums. I am sure that she figured out there is "something" going on between the two of them.
Perhaps this is the moment where Aerith stopped being as flirty with Cloud as she was in the previous chapters. Of course this could be my obvious biases kicking in but I honestly don't recall Aerith being flirty after that. Ever since her rescue she suddenly become very "mission" orientated and kinda a serious character. Am I the only one who thought this way?
Graymouse
Pro Adventurer
.
There is something about Tifa's vulnerability here that strikes me hard. When she is with Cloud she can tear down all her insecurities and emotional barriers and show her true side to only Cloud. Tifa who looks and acts very strong on the outside but in reality is actually very sensitive. Tifa who always puts herself in second place caring for her friends more than anyone else. The Tifa that lavishes her kindness to all but still buries her hatred for all things Shinra.
All these things makes her such a strong character, if not one of the strongest characters in the FF franchise.
Eerie
Fire and Blood
I think it was mentioned here or in the LTD thread I think that the JP fandom seemed to think that Tifa's jealousy was cute, essentially because it showed that her feelings were romantic. I think that it was good that they toned it down though, it's true that there were a lot of scenes in the OG, compared to the Remake, where she was jealous, and it was something that ended up shaping her character a bit too much. It also helps that Cloud does get jealous too, so you can't make it a fault on Tifa's character and ignore it in Cloud's.
@Graymouse I won't lie, it pained me when she went "I know it's useless to cry", girl tries too hard and is way too harsh on herself
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Yumelinh
Pro Adventurer
I love this because Cloud's internal struggle that is written all over his face is one of the things that I like the most in that hug scene ( aside from the hug itself, ofc). When the devs mentioned that Cloud's true self emerges in this scene I think they were specifically speaking about what you wrote here.
I also love that this is the culmination of this recurring theme between them, where Cloud continues to see Tifa suffering, but he's unable to find a way to comfort her so he "clenches fist", lol.
And while we're at it: Cloud slowly realizing that Tifa was crying is still *Chef's kiss*
Yumelinh
Pro Adventurer
Am playing FFVII remake with my best mate.
For as long as I've known him, I've talked about FFIX, and FFVII because you know, when you're passionate about something you want to share it.
Regarding FFVII I've always made half spoilery comments about how brilliantly done certain aspects are while trying not to actually ruin the plot for him, I've shown him pieces of FFVII in the past basically to get him to wonder what the hell is going on, and now with the remake I've finally gotten him to the point where he wants to play it to find out what the fuck is wrong with Cloud basically. The fun part about this is that this is a dude whose 1,72 cm tall, with extremely blond hair, and blue eyes, he could basically cosplay the perfect Cloud (funnily enough, I could probably cosplay Zack).
Now normally, when it comes to women, we're like night and day, so it's interesting to me that while playing FFVII, we are perfectly on one line.
Watching him interact with Aerith is downright hilarious because his personality is basically an exact copy of Soldier Cloud, to the point where I am watching them say the same things in unison.....and he is sooo freaking fed up with Aerith after chapter 7.
"Let's take a break".
Cloud and him in unison: "NO!".
I know that my own bias probably clouds his judgement a bit, but it's just fun to see him basically channel Cloud while on the couch next to me, dude is even sighing disparagingly at the same moments. It's almost difficult to watch since he's really liking Cloud atm and will probably be annoyed to find out he's not really like that, he feels like he's found his gaming double.
But I also find it interesting that his first take on the entire Cloud/Aerith/Zack thing was "ok, Cloud obviously has a romantic thing going on with Tifa, they have perfect chemistry, and Aerith is obviously not interested in Cloud but in his similarities with her ex, what the hell is this entire debate about?". (I've shown him the end of Crisis Core without saying anything about how Zack and Cloud relate, just so that once he reaches the end of the game, that scene makes some sort of sense for him).
Me: "Dude, If you think that's obvious now, you don't even know the half of it, I have no idea why people are still debating this."
For as long as I've known him, I've talked about FFIX, and FFVII because you know, when you're passionate about something you want to share it.
Regarding FFVII I've always made half spoilery comments about how brilliantly done certain aspects are while trying not to actually ruin the plot for him, I've shown him pieces of FFVII in the past basically to get him to wonder what the hell is going on, and now with the remake I've finally gotten him to the point where he wants to play it to find out what the fuck is wrong with Cloud basically. The fun part about this is that this is a dude whose 1,72 cm tall, with extremely blond hair, and blue eyes, he could basically cosplay the perfect Cloud (funnily enough, I could probably cosplay Zack).
Now normally, when it comes to women, we're like night and day, so it's interesting to me that while playing FFVII, we are perfectly on one line.
Watching him interact with Aerith is downright hilarious because his personality is basically an exact copy of Soldier Cloud, to the point where I am watching them say the same things in unison.....and he is sooo freaking fed up with Aerith after chapter 7.
"Let's take a break".
Cloud and him in unison: "NO!".
I know that my own bias probably clouds his judgement a bit, but it's just fun to see him basically channel Cloud while on the couch next to me, dude is even sighing disparagingly at the same moments. It's almost difficult to watch since he's really liking Cloud atm and will probably be annoyed to find out he's not really like that, he feels like he's found his gaming double.
But I also find it interesting that his first take on the entire Cloud/Aerith/Zack thing was "ok, Cloud obviously has a romantic thing going on with Tifa, they have perfect chemistry, and Aerith is obviously not interested in Cloud but in his similarities with her ex, what the hell is this entire debate about?". (I've shown him the end of Crisis Core without saying anything about how Zack and Cloud relate, just so that once he reaches the end of the game, that scene makes some sort of sense for him).
Me: "Dude, If you think that's obvious now, you don't even know the half of it, I have no idea why people are still debating this."
Graymouse
Pro Adventurer
For the most part I believe the reason why people are still debating this is because a lot of people feel that Aerith didn't get a proper closure. Without going to far into the LTD here I believe people feel that Aerith got ripped away from them due to the circumstance of the events of the OG.
Don't get me wrong I still think that only Tifa could have brought back Cloud from the edge of insanity. It has been said many times in the various other mediums. It is just something that only Tifa could have done because Tifa knows him best, end of story. (Aeirth never knew the real Cloud and died before the lifestream scene)
The thing about the Remake, is that Nojima and Nomura are getting to a point where they want to retire and so they want to make the FInal Fantasy 7 remake project their last project. So they are combining all the known mediums and putting them into one game. I am hoping that this time it will leave no doubt and we all can finally end the LTD. It has been alive way too long, and needs to end.
@Graymouse I won't lie, it pained me when she went "I know it's useless to cry", girl tries too hard and is way too harsh on herself
When she said that line, I thought the same thing. Tifa is way too hard on herself but than I realized that it fits her personality very well. I think by this point she really felt the weight of her entire world crashing down on her. The only person left in her world is Cloud. This is probably why she uncharacteristically showed her very sensitiveness to Cloud.
These two have suffered so much up to this point and will continue to suffer throughout the course of the game. They have nothing left, everything was take away from them by force and was completely out of their control. The only thing they have left is each other. I really thought it was very mature of Cloud to say, "That is not true." when Tifa said it was useless to cry. This is true Cloud speaking through.
@Stiggie lol the whole "Let's take a break" "NO!" part was hilariousLet us know his thoughts after he finishes the whole game o/
Trust me, it was funnier in real life, he literally shouted it in perfect synch with Cloud and it was just the culmination of him constantly going "Damnit, I need to get back to sector 7, why does this girl keep trying to prevent me from leaving!?"
iamhorde
Pro Adventurer
Reading your analysis and replaying those chapters is such a treat. I'm probably watching those cut scenes for the 4th time now but still enjoying it as much as the first with this new perspectives.
Several members have commented how harsh Tifa is towards herself and I cannot agree more. Showing a little jealousy for someone you care deeply and your vulnerabilities when everything around you is perfectly normal and healthy. This is why replaying the later chapters after the resolution scenes, filled with the perspectives from this thread and my shipping lens on brings me so much joy. I actually see a slightly more confident Tifa after Cloud reassures her that it's not useless to cry. It was pointed out before how they seem closer the day after and even few chapters later, I still see this "closer connection" in subtle ways.
In Chapter 15 where there were going after Corneo and Cloud had Leslie at sword-point, Tifa placed her hand on Cloud to calm him. She did this in Chapter 3 too I believe, but if memory serves me correct, her hand was on Cloud longer this time. There's also another scene in the subsequent chapter as they were climbing up to the plate from the Sector 7 wreckage where Tifa stopped and looked down at the destruction before her. They were all on a mission but Tifa took the time to stop and come to terms with her emotions, she even called out to Cloud who stopped in his tracks to listen to her. Another subtle point of how the game seems to show that Cloud takes the time to listen and care for Tifa since Marle's advice. At a later chapter when they are at Shinra HQ's viewing deck, Tifa calls out to Cloud to come take in the view. There's nothing significant about this, Cloud doesn't even stand next to her because Uncle Barret is in between them but just seeing Tifa being more vocal of her desires to me is a big plus and development.
People could say I'm overthinking things or just building head canon but the awesome analysis found in this thread have given me more enjoyment out of the game, thanks everyone for that! I can only hope that we'll see even more character and relationship development between our fav ship in subsequent games. If SoldierCloud could be this warm and caring towards Tifa, I can't wait for more sweet scenes from TrueCloud.